Belgium Independence Day is Celebrated on July 21

And in 2015, we did not do anything to celebrate, like consume Belgian-style beer. Last year, we did. Below is a post that I made elsewhere about our evening out on July 21, 2014.

Swig in Perrysburg announced:

This is happening right here at Swig on Monday, July 21 starting at 2pm... Belgian Independence Day celebration.

On Monday evening, Jul 21, 2014, Deb, Deb's daughter CP, and I visited Swig in Perrysburg and The Attic in Uptown Toledo. We tasted several Belgian beers. Three were from Trappist breweries. We helped educate Deb's daughter a little on beer.

We arrived at Swig around 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.

At Swig, our first order was:

DD: Chimay Trippel (tap)
CP: Framboise Lambic (tap)
me: Chimay Trippel (tap)

The lambic is on the left. The trippel appears darker in the photo because of the flash. We ate the fetta dip with pita for an appetizer.
lambic and trippel beers at swig

I tasted the lambic, and I don't get it, but that's the great thing about the wide variety of beer styles.

The Chimay Trippel was underwhelming to me. Too bland. Not enough Belgian flavor. I like the Chimay Blue label (quad) and the Chimay Red label much better. Our trippel tastes much better than the Chimay Trippel.

Our next order:

DD: Rochefort 10 (bottle)
CP: Rochefort 10 (bottle)
me: Rochefort 8 (bottle)

The Rochefort 8 is a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. Like the Chimay Trippel, this was a new beer for me. The 8 was very good, but I tasted the 10, and the 10 is still my all-time favorite beer. I like the Rochefort 6 better than the Rochefort 8. CP was not impressed with the 10.

For dessert, we ordered one Duvel that we shared, although I probably consumed most of it. This was another new beer for me, and it was my second favorite that I tried at Swig after the Rochefort 10. The Duvel is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, and it contained that good Belgian funky yeast flavor that I like. A very good beer.

Duvel Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Scrump.

I ordered the Chicago-style hot dog and fries. We stayed to answer some trivia questions.

The weather was ideal. Not humid. Comfortable temps. We sat outside on the patio. Nice transition from the low sun of the late evening to darkness.

And Swig was busy as usual, even for a Monday evening. That place seems busy, regardless of the time of day or week.

After Swig, we stopped at The Attic, which is located in the Uptown area of downtown Toledo. It was CP's first visit to The Attic. We all ordered the LaTrappe Dubbel, which they had on tap. For Deb and me, this is one of our favorite beers. And CP enjoyed it too.

Walking upstairs to The Attic.

LaTrappe Dubbels.

We left The Attic around 11:25 p.m. We dropped CP off at her home. Deb and I arrived home at 11:45 p.m. It was so nice outside that we sat out in our backyard for a little while.

Tomato, eggplant, celery, carrots, and broccoli at night in our garden.

Good family time on a fine summer July evening.

#Belgian - #Trappist - #food - #restaurant - #photo